The Message of Easter: A Love that Conquers Death
For as long as humanity has left its imprint on planet earth, in clay and in stone, in monuments as well as in writing, music, and in art, we have tried to defeat death.
But so far, it would appear that death has won. In all likelihood, unless you are a very significant figure, within a very few generations you will be entirely forgotten. Depressing, isn’t it? So, let’s lighten the tone!
Lately, I’ve been saying as a joke, “Gravity always wins.” Maybe it’s got to do with where my once-impressive physique has gone. But it’s not really true. Gravity doesn’t always win.
So, if gravity isn’t the strongest force in the world, what is? I think that there are two candidates: one is death and the other is love. Let’s look at both, one after the other.
It’s not nice to talk or write about death, because death is something we all want to avoid. That’s precisely because we know that unless the second coming of Jesus happens real soon, we won’t avoid it.
Even Jesus died.
According to the Bible, every single person who has ever been born, except for two people, has died. The first Biblical exception is Enoch, of whom the Bible says:
Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away (Gen 5:24.)
The second Biblical example of someone who didn’t die was Elijah, who was taken up to heaven in a chariot of fire (2 Kings 2:11.)
Everyone else died. Even Jesus died.
In the Biblical love poem, Song of Songs, the woman says to her lover,
…love is as strong as death… (Song of Songs 8:6.)
It seems like an odd analogy, to compare something so wonderful as love to something as terrible as death. But the idea is that nothing is stronger than death. Death gets us all. Death wins in the end.
I believe that death is not the winner; instead love wins.
But I don’t believe that death wins in the end. I believe that love wins. When someone you love dies, your love for that person doesn’t die, does it? It transcends death.
However, love doesn’t only exist in memories. It exists in humanity’s most fundamental motivations, and insofar as they are good, these come from the original Source of love, who is God himself.
And if love is the core attribute of God, as the Bible tells us – “God is love” (1 John 4:8) – and God is all-powerful, then it is only logical that love wins in the end. This is where one of the flaws is in the atheistic argument that a loving and all-powerful God would not permit suffering and evil. He doesn’t permit it. He vanquishes it. Otherwise, what would be the point of “God” or of believing in him?
If love is as strong as death, then the love of Jesus is far, far stronger than death.
I am a Christian because I believe that love, as a fundamental attribute of God, is the strongest power in the universe. The apostle Paul writes that,
Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love (1 Cor. 13:13, NLT).
If love is as strong as death, then the love of Jesus is far, far stronger than death. That’s why the resurrection of Jesus is so important. Jesus went to the Cross because of his love for you. He rose from the dead because of love for you.
We all want to be winners, and I want to belong to the winning team. I believe that death is not the winner; instead love wins. Indeed, love has already won, when the Son of God gave his life and rose for you.
You see, it’s all because of Jesus. It is his love that has conquered death. He conquered death for you. That’s why I choose to live for him.
Article supplied with thanks to Dr Eliezer Gonzalez.
About the Author: Dr Eli Gonzalez is the Senior Pastor of Good News Unlimited and the presenter of the Unlimited radio spots, and The Big Question. Sign up to his free online course called Becoming a Follower of Jesus to learn about Jesus and His message.
Feature image: Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash
